The RAW Dilemna

PEF or DNG? That was the question... and I think I've come up with an answer - that suits me, anyway. My camera (Pentax K20D) will take RAW photos in either DNG (Adobe compatible format) or PEF (the Pentax format), and of course in various JPEG formats. Since I have recently been attempting to use Photoshop CS3, I was wondering if it would be to my advantage to shoot in the DNG mode. CS3 can easily read and be used to edit DNG files, whereas I am limited to my Pentax Photo Browser/Laboratory software to even view the PEF files.
So, to see for myself, I spent a day with one camera set to take DNG's, and the other to take PEF's. Every other in-camera setting was identical. In all honesty, I have to say that I was a bit surprised at the outcome! Even though the post-processing of the Pentax RAW files is more cumbersome, I was completely more pleased with them. The colors and contrast in the RAW data are much more vibrant, and far less tweaking is required to achieve the same JPEG result. Who'd-a-thunk?? I must say I was under the impression that Photoshop was the be-all/end-all in editing software... and while it is quite an amazing tool, my opinion has changed somewhat. Pentax is pretty darn good itself, and I won't feel bad about leaving my camera in the PEF mode!
Cheers.

The JPEG Experiment

I recently travelled to Arizona, and I spent pretty much the whole time in the beautiful western desert around Parker. For this trip, I decided to try something different in terms of picture taking - I only shot in JPEG, no RAW. Part of it was due to me being lazy and not feeling like dragging my laptop along (it has my RAW conversion software program on it), and part of it was simple curiosity - I was curious if I'd actually be able to notice poorer quality in the end-result images. I do realize that the RAW capture in a camera writes the information directly to the card, bypassing the camera's processor... so in essence you have an unprocessed 'negative'... and of course you should see better results if you have more data to play with right from the start. But post-processing of RAW files takes substantially more effort than tweaking JPEG files - I'd say it consumes at least twice as much time per picture - and I have been wondering lately if all my efforts have been a bit in vain.
I guess since I didn't take anything in RAW, I don't have actual hard evidence to make a side-by-side comparison... But in my infinite yet limited photography wisdom, I would have to say that straight JPEGs do look somewhat less... crisp? for lack of a better term... and I am unable to enlarge them to the extent that I can with RAW format files, without noticing massive pixelation and loss of integrity. As well, any editing that is required degrades the file exponentially with every overwrite.
So, to make a long story no shorter than it was... I'll be leaving my camera set to RAW... I'll continue to spend more time than I wish was necessary on photo processing... and I will not complain about it!

Next question: PEF or DNG? Aaaack!! So many queries, so little time!

Blue is definitely a color!

Blue... as in brilliant, crystal, azure... I just returned from Barbados, and the waters of the Caribbean around that particular island are shades of blue I can barely describe! Everything from deep royal to rich turquoise... for hundreds of yards out to sea, off of all the coasts... it was amazing! The scenery was spectacular and the weather was wonderful, and the colors of nature were beautiful. The photos in this post are a mere glimpse of the West Indies paradise.

Cheers.

Grey is a color... isn't it??

E-GADS!! It's been over a month since I've posted... bad Cheryle, bad...! I have no excuse really, unless working like a dog counts... Unfortunately, travelling for weeks at a time results in working for weeks at a time. Ahhh, the trade-offs!

Anyway, 'nuff about that! Today, after a bit of a picture-taking lull, a friend and I took our beloved cameras for a walk. The temperature was about 35 degrees Celsius warmer than it has been over the past month, and we wanted to take full advantage of it! Neither of us could remember the last time we were outside without 12 layers of clothing and massive boots and mitts, etc. Of course, along with above zero temps comes overcast skies and... rain!! But we were determined to snap some pics anyhow. Which brings me to GREY. I find that moderate cloud cover can actually be very photography friendly - sometimes the midday sun does nothing but blast every shot into over-exposed oblivion - and it is nice to have the reprieve of 'soft' light as opposed to harsh glare and deep shadowing. Today however, it was just plain GREY. The clouds were low and socked in, making the light extremely flat, and contrast was non-existent. Everywhere you looked, it was so... blah! We wandered around for a couple of hours, mostly chatting, stopping every so often to take a token photograph, but not finding a whole lot of interesting subjects to take pictures of. Or so I thought. After we went for coffee and chatted some more, I got home and realized that I had clicked the shutter almost 50 times! I was impressed. Although I only ended up with about 10 frames that were worthy of keeping... and out of the 10, almost half of them required extra attention during post processing.

Oh well. It was great to get out, even if it wasn't in the best conditions. Towards the end of the afternoon, my friend reminded me of a quip we had read once... "Anybody can take pictures, but a good photographer is somebody who knows when NOT to take pictures..." True, true, true! But I'm adding to it by saying that a good photographer also knows how and when to use the 'delete' function...

Cheers!

Monochrome

Monochrome... the word itself sounds kind of boring, since it indicates a single color, one tone... But at times, I find that shooting in monochrome can actually be more interesting than using full color. Depending on the subject, monochrome (aka black and white) can be extremely dramatic. Textures are enhanced and contrast is much more pronounced. The absence of hue can relay a completely different feel in a photograph, too, making things seem slightly more eerie and surreal. I've been having fun this week around central Colorado, taking pics of cool rock formations as well as various buildings. The combination of strange topography and aging architecture make for some neat results. Enjoy!

Heat and Humidity

An ocean climate definitely provides a different set of challenges for a photographer than does a desert environment. The humidity is unbelievable - condensate forms on a lens at the drop of a hat! And the seawater-saturated air leaves a gritty film on everything - I am constantly wiping a fine layer of salt off my camera when it is out of its case! I'm certain the lifespan of my gear is declining as we speak. But what do you do? I'm for sure not leaving home without my favorite things (aka Pentax K20D and associated parts), because I can't fathom taking a vacation and not recording at least SOME of the events. Plus it can always be taken to a reputable camera shop for a deep cleaning and servicing once I get home, right?? So, while I'm on the road, I'll be thrashing around in the surf, hanging out on the beach, laying by the pool... with my camera in tow the entire time... putting that weather-resistant K20D bad-boy and the all-weather LowePro case to the test... And of course the results should all be worth the effort!! I think they are, anyhow... Cheers.

Designs in the Desert

I've spent the last couple of weeks in the Arizona desert, and I think I am so fascinated by the landscape because of how radically different it is from the area in which I live. The granite towers and saguaro cactii around Tucson are amazing, and the sunsets are unbelievably brilliant every single night! I've been having fun shooting in both color and black and white. We have been doing a bit of rock climbing as well, which has made for some neat photos. The only downside to the whole adventure is the heat! I'm a northerner through and through, and I am far from acclimatized to the warmth. Around the 5000 foot mark and higher on Mt Lemmon is bearable; below that, the temperatures approach and exceed 90F. However, if hot weather is my biggest problem... should I really be complaining?? I think not!

Cheers!